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How to Analyze Baseball Swing Mechanics in 15 Steps

baseball swing mechanics

Hitting an MLB fastball requires the application of a huge amount of energy in the blink of an eye, roughly 130 ms to be exact. That’s about a 1/8th of a second. Only through a coordinated series of contractions involving not only muscles but joints and connective tissue traveling up the kinetic chain into the hands and ultimately the bat can we achieve adequate bat speed and quickness to hit a baseball traveling at speeds north of 90 mph. This article is meant to familiarize you with the 2 distinct phases (stride and swing) and 15 positions in baseball hitting and baseball swing mechanics that we review when analyzing video. Continue reading “How to Analyze Baseball Swing Mechanics in 15 Steps”

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Baseball Hitting Mechanics… How to Address Sway?

baseball hitting mechanics

In this series of short articles and video analyses, as a part of assessing our hitters, I will be going over different components of baseball hitting mechanics, while Nunzio will help highlight potential issues and correctives both inside and outside the nets. Today’s topic on hitting mechanics is Sway, and it starts at with the stance and set up… Continue reading “Baseball Hitting Mechanics… How to Address Sway?”

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How We Assess Hitters at RPP Baseball

hitting assessment

As an athlete, you are not able to move efficiently if your body isn’t in a position to do so. Incorporating assessments, strength training and data analytics into how we train players is a bit of an art. Since each and every player is different in every way, the key is to parse through the information and determine which pieces are relevant for each player. Below is a typical assessment for position players at our facility and it’s broken up into several sections:

Let’s review these with some specificity… Continue reading “How We Assess Hitters at RPP Baseball”

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3 Questions When Analyzing Kinematic Sequence with K-Vest Baseball

k-vest baseball

HITTING IS HARD! Fortunately, technologies such as K-Vest Baseball, Blast and Rapsodo allow us to measure many metrics and movements, thus, giving the hitter a better chance to succeed. Unless you can understand and incorporate data into your training the value of data would be meaningless.  I should also add that it is easy for hitters to get lost in the numbers unless the collective data is properly incorporated into their training.

As an athlete, you are not able to move efficiently if your body isn’t in a position to do so. In terms of timing, if your lower half isn’t in a strong stable position to efficiently transfer energy and allow the upper half to move, then you will have a tough time hitting at any level.

It is important to understand how the lower body is behaving and how it should behave when a player is “on time”.  Here are 3 questions to ask when analyzing timing through the Pelvis of a Kinematic Sequence as measured by the K-Vest Baseball: Continue reading “3 Questions When Analyzing Kinematic Sequence with K-Vest Baseball”

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What to Do With All the Data Coming Out of Showcases?

During the past year several showcases announced partnerships with technology companies, whereby participants skills are measured during their events.  We’re not talking about the usual 60-yard dash.  We’re talking about esoteric topics like vertical bat angles of a swing and spin efficiency levels on a pitch.  On the one hand this is great news for the game. Technology is changing baseball for the better and the data can be invaluable for both training and evaluation. On the other hand, although I am a big believer in tech and the value it brings, there is an issue. Continue reading “What to Do With All the Data Coming Out of Showcases?”

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New Jersey’s Most Comprehensive Baseball Training Facility

baseball training facility

RPP Baseball is a high performance baseball training facility located in Paramus (Bergen county), New Jersey. From the weight room to our pitching and hitting programs, we utilize the latest in technology, in a holistic and data-driven approach which allows us to assess, train and re-assess players on an ongoing basis. Our athletes are walking testimonials as to the power of our highly customized programming. Below is a summary of our extensive services for pitchers and baseball players: Continue reading “New Jersey’s Most Comprehensive Baseball Training Facility”

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Blast Motion Baseball Metrics, Rotation, Angles and Power

blast motion baseball

In my previous internship before RPP, part of my responsibilities included watching Minor League baseball games. After my first few games, I noticed a recurring trend, every player wore a Blast Motion Baseball sensor during the game. As I saw more organizations’ Minor League teams, not all had their players wear the sensors; however, the idea behind it was simple, data collection.

At RPP, we use Blast Motion sensors for the same purpose, and this allows us to help identify and develop athletes’ inefficiencies. The only difference is we do not have the ability to collect data from athletes’ in-game at-bats. Therefore, we collect data from batting practice at our facility and are still able to get a good picture of what an athlete does well, and what they struggle with.

Continue reading “Blast Motion Baseball Metrics, Rotation, Angles and Power”

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Training Players with the K-Vest for Improved Swing Mechanics

k vest baseball

An efficient swing path allows a hitter to keep the barrel in the hitting zone from approximately the back of home plate all the way through contact and ultimately into extension where the bat should continue to stay on plane with the flight of the ball. Once competition reaches higher levels (i.e higher throwing velocities, better ball movement), an athlete’s “preferred posture” becomes a necessity to create a more optimal vertical bat angle and allow the athlete to better adjust to pitches higher or lower in the zone. Continue reading “Training Players with the K-Vest for Improved Swing Mechanics”